What kinds of memories will you take from 2012?

Dec. 27, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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The San Clemente High School dance team gets warmed-up before their dance in the Small Hip Hop category at the United Spirit Association Dance Nationals at the Anaheim Convention Center. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Twinkie the Kid does his best to emulate San Clemente High School cheerleaders entertaining at the grand-opening celebration for the new Ralphs store in town. FRED SWEGLES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Alex Neidl takes the first shot at the hoop during a game against Dana Hills. Neidl, 17, who has cerebral palsy, was allowed to play in the opening seconds of the game and made a basket after four years as the team manager. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Demonstators gather for a rally in March near the San Onofre Nuclear station on the one year anniversary of the nuclear disaster in Fukishma, Japan. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Avery, left, and Emma Lalor sit with Tahoe on a favorite seat at Three Dog Bakery in downtown San Clemente, where the service-dog trainee has become a familiar face over the last 18 months. FRED SWEGLES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Eamon Herilhy, 3, reaches out for his dad after going down the waterslide. SEAN LARA, FOR THE REGISTER

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Bertha Henry Taylor sits in front of some of the awards she has recieved at home in San Clemente. She was recently nominated to the San Clemente Wall of Recognition which is at the San Clemente Community Center. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Courtney Faye Smith, 25, of San Clemente is the first Miss Teen Wheelchair California. She was also named Citizen of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce. COURTESY PHOTO

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Torin Souviney performs on the xylophone as Daniel Velaquez's hands go to work on the marimba. FRED SWEGLES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

San Clemente American #2 Coach Cameron Shelley, 14, right, talks with his players before their game with the Ladera Ranch Little League Padres at Cox Sports Park. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Jeff Marder managed to position his surfboard beneath an injured black crowned night heron and prop it up onto the board to paddle in to the beach. COURTESY PHOTO

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Lyn Hiner sits with her husband Rob at the Grossman Burn Center at Western Medical Center Santa Ana where she is being treated for burns received from burning rocks picked up by her children on a family beach outing. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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San Clemente City Councilman Bob Baker and candidate Chris Hamm stand together after initial polling results put both candidates ahead in the San Clemente's City Council race on Tuesday evening. DAVID BRO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The San Clemente High School dance team gets warmed-up before their dance in the Small Hip Hop category at the United Spirit Association Dance Nationals at the Anaheim Convention Center.PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

We laughed. We sobbed. Our eyes brimmed with pride and our lips pursed in worry during the last year in San Clemente, our Spanish Village by the Sea. From our adopted Marines returning home to the inspiring stories of faith and courage to everyday people doing extraordinary things, there was much to remember about the year. Take a trip back through 2012 with us and share in the memories – maybe there are even some of your own mentioned.

JANUARY

San Clemente Librarian Karen Wall gave us a walking tour of a planned $1.6 million expansion of the library – still in the works.

Glued locks left many of SCHS' students 3,000-plus students out in the cold one January morning.

A car wash helped raise money to send returning troops from the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines to Las Vegas when they would soon return from Afghanistan.

We visited San Clemente, Jalisco, Mexico, a colonial town with a 400-year history.

You learned about San Clemente High's drum line – how the beat goes on, long after the marching band concludes football season.

The busiest fast-foot place in town, McDonald's, showed off its million-dollar makeover, now able to serve up to 150 cars an hour and reduce backups.

iHope, a nonprofit, opened a daytime resource center for the area's working poor and homeless.

A plan for a three-story downtown building drew objections from the historical society, leading to months of debate and ending with the developer withdrawing the project.

Kathy Rogers, that cheerful voice who answers the phone at City Hall, was named City Employee of the Year.

A small radioactive leak shut down one of San Onofre's two nuclear reactors. The other was shut down for refueling and maintenance. Both remain shut down as revelations showed widespread wear to new steam generators and Southern California Edison sought to correct the problem and critics argued that the plant should never reopen.

FEBRUARY

Skateboarding is looking to come of age as a sport at San Clemente High. We showed you how.

You met the Best Buddies Club of SCHS, where mainstream students bond with those with special needs.

Cabrillo Playhouse hosted 35 homeless men and women for dinner and a performance of "Run for your Wife, with restaurateur Nick Nickoloff providing the dining.

Marine Sgt. Manny Loggins was shot and killed by Sheriff's Deputy Darren Sandberg in a bizarre pre-dawn incident at San Clemente High School, with two Loggins daughters in the back seat of his SUV. A district attorney's investigation found flaws in deputies' response to a situation in which Loggins was acting irrationally – but found no criminal wrongdoing.

Residents concerned about San Onofre radiation leaks asked the City Council for independent radiation monitoring and a study of cancer risks. The City Council, told in March that ample monitoring exists, called for responsible agencies to make the data readily available to the public. A study of cancer risks is in the works.

The Evan Cousineau Reception Lobby served as a reminder of a vibrant 9-year-old whose life was cut short by a rare genetic disorder. Evan, who would today be playing water polo in the new pool, has become the inspiration for a nationwide movement to donate marrow, organs, tissue and blood.

A welling of public support surfaced for the family of Sgt. Manny Loggins – flowers, cards, donations that led to more than $10,000 in donations to the family.

Surfer Anthony Banuelos got his waterproof GoPro camera back after losing it while surfing at San Onofre. Bonnie and Luis Alvarez, owners of Guicho's Eatery, used the memory card to trace the owner after finding the camera on the beach.

Courtney Smith, the inspiration for Courtney's SandCastle universal-access playground, was named Citizen of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce.

The Downtown Business Association and San Clemente Historical Society unveiled a new downtown sidewalk mural in front of Griffin Optometric.

MARCH

Rock the Autism, a local organization, launched a program to boost self-esteem and expression to dozens of local kids with disabilities through music.

Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church celebrated a new $5 million parish hall, McGowan Hall.

The City Council said no, for the foreseeable future, to a designated dog beach in San Clemente while pledging to work up a program to allow leashed dogs in most city parks.

San Clemente got its Kmart back. The store, which converted to a Sears Essential after serving as Kmart from 1976 to 2006, reopened as a Kmart again following a facelift.

About 200 people marked the anniversary of Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster with a rally near the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, calling for a permanent shutdown.

You met two dozen Vista Del Mar Middle School students who trained for months to run in the L.A. Marathon. They all completed the course.

San Clemente city officials pedaled bicycles on a guided three-hour tour of Long Beach to learn how that city attained the title "Most Bicycle Friendly City in America" and to gather ideas for San Clemente.

The city named Sheriff's Lt. John Coppock chief of police services in San Clemente, succeeding Lt. Paul D'Auria, promoted to captain and transferred to command the James A. Musick Jail.

We got to tour Shorecliffs' Middle School's new organic gardens, an outdoor classroom where kids can cultivate and eat natural foods.

San Clemente's Courtney's SandCastle universal-access playground won a statewide award at a banquet in Long Beach.

You shared the joys of families reuniting as San Clemente's "adopted" Marine unit, the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, returned from Afghanistan.

APRIL

A $265,000 study of the watershed that drains to the ocean at polluted Poche Beach blamed bird droppings for most of the high bacteria count in the water.

San Clemente High's dance team won two national titles and all five of the team's dances made it to the championship night at Anaheim Convention Center.

You got a close-up view of how San Clemente Little League's Challenger Division introduces kids with disabilities to baseball and pairs them with mainstream Little Leaguers whose role on the field as "buddies" is life-changing.

County officials said an $80 million extension of Avenida La Pata to Ortega Highway could begin as early as 2013 if the county can close a $9 million funding gap. They set out to close the gap.

The San Clemente/Dana Point Animal Shelter opened its new $600,000 cat quarters featuring eight spiffy cat condos.

A nationwide petition urged the City Council to ban the sale of dogs and cats at local pet stores. The council declined, saying no local stores sell dogs and cats and no puppy mills exist here.

You watched as renowned chef Stephane Treand opened The Art of Pastry, a culinary school in San Clemente.

You met some of 50 top British track and field athletes who trained for weeks at San Clemente High School, taking advantage of nicer weather than at home, to prepare for Olympic tryouts in London in June.

Former San Clemente mail carrier John Fowler, 84, was missing and presumed dead after a massive search around the Kern River. The Kernville resident had wandered off one morning while walking to the post office.

Educator, parks commissioner, author and community volunteer Bill Thomas was named to San Clemente's Wall of Recognition.

MAY

Five artists decorated five traffic-controller boxes in a public art program co-sponsored by the city and the San Clemente Art Association.

Friends and family gathered at a Forster Ranch greenbelt to fondly remember Daniel Mendez three years after the 16-year-old bullying victim took his own life near there. A Cool 2 Be Kind Club that formed at San Clemente High in response continues to make strides.

Family Assistance Ministries turned a former fire station into a food and counseling center for needy families.

You saw how San Clemente High surf coach dressed up as Baywatch lifeguard Pamela Anderson to win a spoof surf contest.

Pizza Port of San Clemente won three medals in this year's World Beer Cup, including a gold for its "Pier Rat Porter" variety. Left Coast Brewing Co. in San Clemente won two medals.

A new steel and concrete bridge was dedicated at Trestles Beach, replacing a wooden trestle at the world-famous surf spot along San Clemente's southern border.

Eight San Clemente women completed 1,000 miles of running in a year-long fitness and charity campaign to assist children orphaned by AIDS in South Africa.

Lyn Hiner of San Clemente was severely burned an hour after she collected rocks at Trestles Beach. The rocks in her right pocket ignited and set her shorts on fire.

The family of slain Marine Sgt. Manuel Loggins sued the county over his Feb. 7 shooting by a Sheriff's deputy in San Clemente.

JUNE

The San Clemente Veterans of Foreign Wars installed its first female commander, former Army nurse Dolores "Dee" Padgett.

Chris Puckett, 15, and Cameron Shelley, 14, San Clemente High freshmen, coached a Little League team to the district title.

San Clemente tossed a homecoming parade for its "adopted" Camp Pendleton unit, the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines followed by a celebration at Park Semper Fi.

JULY

You met San Clemente's Francesca Fedorovsky, 13, training with a sword for the U.S. fencing team at the 2016 Olympic Games

City parks commissioners called for dog access to 10 more city parks but said they want a $250 fine if owners leave droppings behind.

We looked at Planning Area 8, a section of the 23,000-acre Rancho Mission Viejo development just outside San Clemente where 500 acres are being eyed for eventual development. It's the only undefined development bubble in the ranch's 14,000-home plan, which has local officials keenly interested.

We asked the county when three clocks that were all at odds with each other on the downtown San Clemente Library tower will be fixed. They'd been awry for months. They still are.

The City Council voted 4-1 to authorize a Sports Hall of Fame. Nominations are being accepted now at san-clemente.org.

Local lifeguards, firefighters and rescue personnel earned props for saving 6-year-old Kaden Rivera of Redlands after he was bitten by a rattlesnake at San Mateo Campground just outside San Clemente.

The recently restored and resurrected Casino San Clemente ballroom celebrated 75 years as a dance hall and special-events center.

Five years after workers began building a Marblehead Coastal bridge along Avenida Vista Hermosa, the job was completed. Lehman Bros. is working to restart the rest of the development.

After pets turned up missing near the coast, animal-control personnel issued a warning that coyotes aren't just found in hinterlands but can turn up in any neighborhood, even near the beach.

A year after losing her husband to a diving accident, Michelle Brislen of San Clemente was on a mission to spread public awareness about "shallow water blackout" in hope it won't happen to others.

Brad Malamud of San Clemente demanded the city return $9 million that has piled up but never been used in a beach-parking fund. A lawsuit filed in August is pending.

Workers cut down a diseased tree that for decades had been the city's Christmas tree. It's been replaced on the corner of Avenida Del Mar and Calle Seville by a homegrown tree from a city park.

Construction began on a long-awaited 76-unit senior apartment complex that will provide below-market rents for qualified renters.

Edison announced plans to cut 730 jobs from the crippled, shutdown San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

SEPTEMBER

Jacque Born, who makes house calls when children bring home head lice, explained everything you want to know about those creepy crawlies and how to deal with them.

Marla Stone, who makes her living rescuing beleaguered people from their clutter, showed us how.

Six months after Vista Hermosa Sports Park opened, discussion opened up on prospects for converting an unused section of the park into three more sports fields.

Parents Stephanie and Pat McIlvain told us about the triumphs and challenges their son Dylan, 12, faces with autism and how they're trying to help at a communitywide level.

Vandalism of a flag monument at Poche Beach led to an outpouring of community support that restored the site.

The city did a month-long experiment with a falconer shooing away seagulls from Poche Beach to see if it'd clean up the ocean. The birds of prey did scatter the birds, but evidently not enough to improve water quality.

San Clemente High School's instrumental music boosters introduced Food Truck Mondays at SCHS as a fundraiser for the program.

Lifeguard of the Year Teddy Weise told us how riding big waves in Hawaii in the off season helps hone his skills for lifesaving here.

Debate raged over whether to ban any more three-story buildings in the heart of downtown. Two city advisory panels disagree on it. City Council will have final say in 2013.

OCTOBER

A 25-pound dog survived a 110-mile journey in the engine compartment of a Chevrolet Silverado until driver Jaime Magaña parked at McDonald's and, to his horror, realized there was fur visible up front. To his relief, the mystery pet was fine. No owner came forward so "Chevy" was put up for adoption and Magaña, of Chino, adopted the dog, now friends for life.

OCTA and the city agreed to partner to expand Route 193 to include stops at Target and Vista Hermosa Sports Park. It could happen in February.

NOVEMBER

Incumbent Bob Baker and homegrown resident Chris Hamm were elected to City Council. Jim Dahl finished third, ending a 16-year tenure on the council. A second Bob Baker on the ballot created a political spectacle, did not campaign and drew just a few votes. The incumbent Baker geared his campaign to avoid voter confusion.

We found out that the old San Clemente Police Department, which ended in 1993 when the city contracted for Sheriff's service, has produced 20 chiefs of police in various communities. We told their story.

Our beach got an unexpected gift – an influx of fine-quality natural sand from out at sea this fall. But for how long, with winter erosion coming? City bulldozed sand to the back of the beach to protect structures and try to keep some of the sand.

The city commissioned a $28,000 study to see what it'd take to restore the defunct landmark Miramar Theater.

Charles Mann, political organizer, issued a public apology for false statements his group made in political mailers attacking candidates Jim Dahl and Mike Mortenson, who came up short on votes in the election.

Dan Corwin was named Deputy of the Year in San Clemente and Tom Arzate firefighter of the year. Tom Collins is Sheriff's volunteer of the year, Capt. Tim Perkins career firefighter of the year.

The city and Caltrans were at odds over the state agency's plan to erect a digital message board visible from an adjacent neighborhood.

The city and OCTA pursued a plan to try to replace loud routine honking of train horns through town with stationary horns at crossings. A state agency could rule on it next spring.

City Manager George Scarborough announced he'll retire March 20. Asst. City Manager Pall Gudgeirsson is in line to succeed him.

DECEMBER

The City Council approved a plan to relocate a state historical marker from City Hall to Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens commemorating the first Christian baptism in California.

The City Council hired contractors to build a $25 million system to more that double the city's use of sewage recycled at the treatment plant into water suitable for irrigation.

Bob Baker was named mayor for the coming year, pledging to promote open communications with residents.

Community icon Bertha Henry Taylor was surrounded by friends at her 101st birthday at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, San Clemente, just days before her passing.

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